What is the most common type of essay at university?

The most common type of essay at university is the argumentative essay, although it varies in different academic programs and parts of the world. In most universities in the US, the required first-year English courses (e.g., Composition I and Composition II) focus on teaching you how to write this genre.

In an argumentative essay, you take a stance on a debatable topic with at least two different positions. The purpose is to convince your readers that your argument has value or to persuade readers to take a specific action. You do this by developing three or more reasons for your argument and supporting those reasons with evidence from credible sources. The basic format is a separate body paragraph for each reason.

Most argumentative essays need correct citations, especially if you use outside sources. With Quillbot’s Citation Generator, the task of citing sources becomes much easier.

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Academic writing: Other interesting questions

What is an essay prompt?: An essay prompt is a description of the topic you’re supposed to write about and/or the type of essay you’re supposed to write. Essay prompts often include these details:

Question or statement that establishes the essay topic and/or type of essay

Required length

Required format or structure

Type of evidence needed

Citation requirements (if you’re required to use outside sources)

Quillbot’s free AI Chat can help you unpack essay prompts and brainstorm ideas for essay topics.
How do you write an argumentative essay introduction?: To write an argumentative essay introduction, follow 3 steps:

Start with a hook that engages your reader in your topic (e.g., a statistic that shows why the issue you’re arguing about is urgent).

Provide background details about why the issue is controversial. Who does the issue affect, and what are the different positions?

Write a thesis statement that includes your main argument. In some cases, you could list the reasons for your argument as well, which are the topics of your body paragraphs.

The introduction for an argument essay also needs to be error free. Quillbot’s free Grammar Checker instantly finds and fixes typos.
How do you write a compare and contrast essay introduction?: Follow these steps to write a compare and contrast essay introduction:

Start with a hook about why the two things you’re comparing/contrasting are important to consider (or why the dilemma between the two things is significant).

Provide background details about the two topics you’re comparing and/or the main situations when someone needs to evaluate similarities/differences.

Write a thesis statement that lists the similarities/differences that you will discuss in your body paragraphs.

When you’re ready to proofread your compare/contrast introduction, Quillbot’s free Grammar Checker will instantly find and fix errors.
How do you write a conclusion for an argumentative essay?: Follow these steps to write a conclusion for an argumentative essay:

Paraphrase your main argument (but avoid repeating your thesis statement word for word).

Explain how your reasons/lines of argument (aka the topics of your body paragraphs) work together to prove your main argument.

End with a final insight about your topic, implications for the future, or a call to action.

After you’ve written a conclusion, run your draft through Quillbot’s Grammar Checker to find and fix typos. .
How many body paragraphs should be in an essay?: To find out how many body paragraphs should be in an essay, look for clues such as these in your assignment instructions.

If your assignment says “5-paragraph essay,” you need 3 body paragraphs. The 5-paragraph format is common for beginner-level writing classes and essay test questions.

Look for a required word count. An essay paragraph is usually about 200 words. Divide the total number of words required by 200 and subtract 2 for the introduction and conclusion.

Look for a required number of pages, and plan for about 2 paragraphs on each double-spaced page.

While your instructor is always the best source of information about how many body paragraphs you need, Quillbot’s AI Chat can also help you unpack assignment requirements and essay prompts if you include them in your AI prompt.